IM JUST READING NUMBERS AND IT'S NOT GOING IN.... HELP!

IsaackGMOON wrote: »

8 days... it's been 8 days... that's hardly anything.

It can take up to 3 weeks to see any changes.

This. Not what most of us want to hear (think we all want that weight to come off NOW!) but it is true.

To lose 1lb per week you need to be eating at a deficit of 500 calories. So, if your TDEE is 1808, subtract 500 from that, and that is the number of calories you should eat a day to lose 1lb per week.

longandpink wrote: »

I am so tired of trying to work out my intake, and read all about deficiet and bmr and tdee etc. My head is so tired of it and nothing makes sense.

It sounds like you are overcomplicating it. I would strongly advise that you make it simpler and ignore all the TDEE and BMR stuff and just go with what MFP tells you for a while. Give it 3 weeks, see what happens, then start thinking about changing up the numbers if you aren't comfortable with the results.

I have set MFP and it states 1200 cal's a day as i am sedentery due to major health thingies. I do walk some days as much as possible.

If you are okay with 1200 do this, but when you do extra exercise log it and eat back at least half of the calories. Intentional walking for exercise counts.

If you think 1200 sounds to low, I'd ask if you chose 2 lbs/week. If so, try 1.5 lbs or 1 lb/week. Better to be consistent and lose a little less per week than never to get going or to mess yourself off with a plan you can't sustain. (I did 1250 when I first started and found it okay, but people differ. I also wouldn't do 1200 now, but if you are sedentary and feel satisfied, it's fine. 1400 would also be fine--like I said, try different loss rates.)

Oh.. i weight 190lb. i am 5ft4 42yrs old. female. Thank you.

I'm 5'3, and started MFP when I was 44 and 200, so pretty similar stats (I lost some before I started logging and counting calories). I know you can do this.

I'd also suggest ignoring the calculators and just sticking to a 1lb/week weight loss as calculated by MFP for 3-4 weeks. This will give you a nice baseline for figuring out what you need to do.

Weight yourself when you start the 3-4 week period, and at the end (daily if you want, so long as you don't get discouraged and quit). Log everything accurately (with a food scale). If it goes in your mouth it goes in the log (exceptions for "0" calorie items, like unsweetened tea or water).

After 3-4 weeks, look back at your average loss and your average calorie intake. You can then determine if you need to raise/lower your calorie intake to meet your goals. If you lost at 0.8lb/week, but you wanted to lose at 1lb/week, you either need to eat less or move more to increase your deficit by 100 calories. You could also calculate TDEE if you want, but note that MFP is based on NEAT, not TDEE. I calculate my TDEE for informational purposes, but I'm still using the NEAT model.

If you've calculated your BMR and TDEE correctly, then you shouldn't be going below your BMR. Double check that number first. Then if you've got it right, and cannot do exercises, then your TDEE is probably correct too. Seems like you're not able to mover around much with only an additional 300 calories or so for the day. I'd say that if you can't fit any movement or exercises above what you calculated your TDEE at, then you should stay with your BMR of 1500 or so calories. This will only give you a deficit of 250-300 calories per day. You'll lose weight at about 0.5lb/week (250 cals x7 days per week = 1750 deficit for the week = 0.5lb loss for the week).

If you can add in some movement beyond what you are currently doing, you will lose faster. This could include walking, chair exercises, or just arm lifts (using cans of soup if that is what is available). ANY movement is better than no movement to add some buffer to those numbers. The good news is that if you are accurate at logging, you can lose that 1/2 lb per week without doing anything differently except changing how much you eat a day.